Can Scotch Eggs Make One Difference?

Great British Chefs guest blogger Food Urchin aka Danny Kingston was invited to cook along with Simon Rimmer from Something for the Weekend. It was all about Scotch eggs and ethical food. Intrigued? Discover what happened & why Bono wasn't involved.

Should Duncan Goose, founder of the pioneering One Brand range of everyday products, ever see fit to make me marketing director for his meritorious and laudable company, my first pitch would go along these lines:

“Duncan, I’ve got one word for you. And that is Bono. If you really want to spread the word behind the One Brand, he really has got to be your man. After all, Bono is well known for his compassion and his drive to bring humanitarian causes to the forefront. He would be great. And plus, there’s the song ‘One’. It’s a perfect fit. I am thinking a reworking of the original. I am thinking of a new ad campaign. Bono walks down the high street. In one hand he holds One Clever Loaf, in the other he holds One Good Egg. And he sings. “One Loaf. One Egg. Sisters. Brothers. We’ve got to carry each other.” I tell you, it will be amazing. If we can get Bono on board that is.”

{C}

And I would imagine that Duncan, sitting there in a baggy pale blue jumper, would probably take this idea on board for a second or two before simply replying:

And he would have a point. Because when I met both Duncan and Simon at a recent bloggers' breakfast to hear the story behind the One Brand and to learn about recipes that have been developed to highlight the products available, it was clear that blast and fireworks, U2 style, were unnecessary. Instead, through warmth and good humour, they conveyed a message that was plain and simple, let’s try and change the world one step at a time and with a ‘like for like’ proposition, where 100% of the profits are used to fund various schemes across Africa. Buy one box of eggs and one family will benefit from a community egg farming project. Buy one loaf of bread and that will help fund one start-up bakery initiative. Buy one bottle of water and one person will be able to drink. A very simple and worthwhile premise, I am sure you’ll agree.

So after a preamble, travelling around the world with Duncan on his motorbike and some teasing instruction from Simon Rimmer as he ran through the recipes he created (“What flower does vanilla come from?” silence “Pah! And you all call yourselves foodies!”), we all settled down to the business of making some Scotch eggs. Because everyone loves a Scotch egg and I have to say the red pepper chutney that accompanied it was absolutely delicious, a great nod there from Mr Rimmer. You can find the recipe at the bottom of this post.

Having been to a fair few of these bloggers events before, proceedings can wane somewhat where suddenly you find yourself standing around thinking, “What the hell am I doing here?” But the people behind One Brand fostered an open environment and great spirit of bonhomie, with strangers chatting across the table. All of which was helped by the approachability of Simon Rimmer and his willingness to discuss food issues, Manchester and male pattern baldness. Refreshing in comparison some of the sour faced celeb chefs I’ve met in the past, who grimace false smiles with eyes focused on the clock. With that in mind, I would like to congratulate Duncan and the team for the work they are doing, I’ve got a feeling that there are more good things to come.

And thank God they haven’t thought about approaching Bono.

Yet.

Chorizo Scotch Eggs with Pepper Chutney

Ingredients

6 hard boiled One Good Eggs – cooked 6 mins max

175g sausage meat

75g finely diced/blended chorizo

tbs chopped parsley

tbs finely chopped chives

Plenty of salt and white pepper

75g breadcrumbs

75g polenta

Vegetable oil to deep fry

Pepper chutney – 1 red onion, sliced

4 red peppers, finely sliced

Clove sliced garlic

8 gherkins, chopped

tbs capers

100g demarera

100ml red wine vinegar

1 finely chopped birds eye chilli

Method

Mix the sausage meat, chorizo, herb, chives and plenty of seasoning

Divide into 16, press flat, then flour each egg, then egg wash and wrap the meat around.

Deep fry at 180c for 4 mins, turning regularly

CHUTNEY – fry onion, garlic, chilli for 3-4 mins to soften

Add peppers, cook 2 mins

Add sugar and vinegar, boil 10mins, take off heat, add capers, gherkins, season and cool. Serve with Scotch Eggs and a little pretty salad garnish

The One Brand is a range of everyday essential products which are sold via major retailers across the UK and internationally, to fund humanitarian aid projects across rural communities in Africa.

When you're shopping for food, would you select food that was going to a good cause over food that wasn't? Does the price make a difference? Do you think supermarkets should do more to stock ethical food? We’re discussing these questions over on Great British Chefs Facebook Page.

Comments

BadAtom

great concept for making the always welcome scotch egg more exciting, but the recipe instructions seem a bit lacking. I can muddle through on my own, but out of curiosity--what do you do with the polenta? And by polenta, do you mean pre-made polenta, or just corn meal to mix in with the bread crumbs?

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Danny is a food adventurer, enthusiastic allotmenteer, supper club host and writer of the entertaining and quirky epicurian blog, Food Urchin. When Danny is not busy digging holes to pit-roast lamb or hanging marrows in tights to make rum or foraging for snails in his garden to throw into paella, he is often left in charge of a pair of cheeky twins; with sometimes disastrous results in the kitchen. He is also listed on MSN as one of the ‘top twenty foodies to follow on Twitter’.

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